Sunday, July 28, 2019

The Last Straw...

Top of the afternoon everyone...

I had trouble deciding on the title of this blog entry. It was either going to be the title I used, or something along the lines of "Still Trying Not to Become a Right Wing Zealot." "The Elephant in the Room" was also a possibility. It was a difficult choice.

We are all aware that plastic straws are the latest concern in the global war on climate change. Putting aside all of the questions that might develop from the sentence above, perhaps there is some merit. The use of non-biodegradable products with such limited usability is not good for the environment. It is also not good for the wallet. That being said, I do not believe for even an instant that banning plastic straws, which comprise 0.025% of the 8,000,000 tons of plastic that end up in our oceans, will have the tiniest effect on climate change (please note that I am not defining climate change in any way. There is no consensus on exactly what it is, let alone what causes it).

With such concern about this environmental scourge, many cities are banning the use of plastic straws. The Trudeau government wishes to ban them for Canada as of 2021. Here in Toronto, Yorkdale Mall will commence its ban in October.

Let us clarify some numbers. As mentioned, straws comprise 0.025% of the 8,000,000 metric tons of plastic that ends up in our oceans. 8,000,000 x 0.025% = 8,000,000 x 0.00025 = 2000. 2000 metric tons of plastic straws get into our oceans each year. I agree. This is a problem.

Again though, we ignore the elephant in the room. A study from the US National Institute of Health (NIH) reports that 4.5 trillion cigarette butts find their way into the world's waters per year. That works out to approximately 765436 metric tons.

765436/2000...that means that the gross tonnage of cigarette butts in our oceans outweighs the gross tonnage of plastic straws by a factor of more than 380. And the number of poisons in those cigarette butts is also not easily discounted. Here is the link to the NIH study: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3088407/. There were too many poisons to list in this blog entry.

Henceforth, I will avoid the use of plastic straws. Is there perhaps one smoker out there who will avoid the use of cigarettes in return? Henceforth, I will avoid the use of plastic straws. In return, is there one politician willing to consider and react to the environmental lethality of tobacco?

Have a good day folks.

R/SCG

A Spicy Pun...

Top of the evening Ladies and Gentlemen...

Jennifer went to the market yesterday. Amongst other things, she restocked our spice cabinet. We were low on several things, so this was a good idea.

With the garlic powder, the onion powder, and the chili powder, there were three packets of thyme. We do not use a huge amount of it, but it certainly belongs in the cabinet. Still, I had to ask why so much.

Three thymes m'lady?

Well...I thought it was funny.

Good night.

R/SCG

Monday, July 15, 2019

How About a Little Perspective Here Folks...

Top of the afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen (and non-binaries)...

A few times over the last several weeks, we have received amber alerts on our phones in the middle of the night. On the off chance that you do not know, amber alerts are a new system to track down children who have gone missing. They are named after a young lady named Amber Hagerman. She was kidnapped and murdered in Texas in 1996.

Every time I hear of one, I listen. I check the details on line. The reason is simple. If God forbid something happened to one of my kids, I would want the entire world to know and to be on the lookout. It is the least I can do to return that favour.

Some folks are complaining about these alerts going off on their cell phones at all sorts of odd hours. With (little) respect, I am unimpressed. First of all, as mentioned, I want them to know about it in China, forget about around the province. Second, best chances of finding a kidnapped child are in the first 24 hours. Third, The search radius increases by the speed limit. That means that an hour after a child is reported missing, that child could be 60 kilometres or more away. That is a large circle to search, over 2700 square kilometres.

So for those who are complaining about phones ringing in the middle of the night, get over it. Alternatively, try something radical. There is no law anywhere that says that your phone must be turned on 24/7. I turn mine off at night. It is not a bad idea for all of you.

On an aside, besides amber alerts, there are also silver alerts. People suffering from dementia will often wander off, with no destination in mind and not necessarily on a straight path. I would have no issue being aroused from slumber for that either.

Good day folks...

R/SCG